The Demise of America's Pasttime, As Such

I hate the term “scalpers” and in this politically correct society, it seems strange that it’s still an okay term to use. But more so, I hate the people themselves, not as people but as they represent greed. When I was walking down Yawkey Way from the Kenmore T stop on Sunday, a young Red Sox fan behind me asked his dad why the scalpers don’t save a ticket for themselves so they can watch the game. His father said that they were business men not baseball fans and that their priorities were a bit different.

Massachusetts has a law that states that you can’t resell a ticket for more than its face value. But the man we talked to about trading in our $23 bleacher seat tickets wanted $175 for something better, and would turn around and sell ours for $100, a tidy profit. Meanwhile, Boston’s Finest wove their way through the crowd, placidly ignoring the hawkers. I looked at these people, all men, with stacks of tickets in their hands, hundreds of tickets, and thought, this is why I can’t see a ball game with my kids. By the second day that Red Sox tickets are on sale, it is impossible to buy three seats together in any price range for any home game. I figured it would be tough the year after the Sox won the World Series, but it isn’t sports fans buying the tickets. It is these entrepreneurs. I can’t spend $375 for my kids and I to see a game, which is what the cheapest scalped tickets would cost my family. Isn’t this supposed to be America’s pastime? Baseball too has become something only the financially elite can afford to view in person. Even ancient Rome, a society that was based on eliteness allowed the masses to go into the coliseum and watch the accused being eaten by lions. Maybe we could send the scalpers there.